A Matter of Time and Space: Equal Footing
by Xeno Sapian
Summary: 2185 – Valni's sister,Vereen, is enjoying a blossoming friendship with a human named Ethan. When Ethan offers Vereen a foot rub, their friendship starts to develop into something more intimate.


**EQUAL FOOTING**

"Are you sure your sister won't mind?"

Ethan loitered by the entrance to the apartment, listening to the sound of running water emanating from the bathroom door on his right as he cast apprehensive glances around the unfamiliar surroundings. Before disappearing into the bathroom, Vereen had dimmed the lights and set a relaxing melody playing over the speakers, adding to the intimate atmosphere. When she'd intercepted Ethan at the end of her shift and suggested going somewhere quieter, he thought she'd meant a restaurant on the Presidium – not her sister's apartment.

" _If I know Valni she'll be thankful someone's looking after her place_ ," Vereen answered from the bathroom, her flanging voice slightly muffled through the closed door. " _She really values her privacy_."

"Is that why you snuck me into her apartment without her permission?"

" _Hey, I'm doing her a favour."_

"By washing your feet in her shower?"

" _Trust me; I'm doing_ everyone _a favour here_! _Besides, I don't hear her complaining_."

"No," Ethan admitted, "but I'm sure if you asked first then…"

Suddenly Vereen cried out. " _Ow_! _Dammit_!"

Ethan walked swiftly forward, hesitating by the shower room door. "You okay?" he asked in concern.

The sound of the shower ceased and the door slid open. Vereen appeared in the doorway, barefoot and wincing as she favoured her left foot. "My foot's cramping up," she said. "I've definitely been standing too long."

Ethan glanced down at her clawed, twin-toed feet. Unlike humans, turian feet were digitigrade, with their lower legs forming a distinctive hooked shape similar to dog legs and all their body weight resting on their toes. The first time he'd seen an uncovered turian foot in the locker room he'd been repulsed – it looked too different from human feet, just too _alien_. But four years working on the Citadel had mellowed that bias against physical differences. A male turian co-worker had confessed to Ethan he'd been equally repulsed by asari physical traits (especially their hands and odd skin), but after meeting the asari who would later become his bondmate, the turian had realised the physical differences between them mattered little. And now, seeing Vereen's differences up-close was, for Ethan, strangely fascinating.

"Want me to take a look at them?" he offered.

Vereen looked down. "At my feet?" She flashed a wry grin. "Isn't there a name for people who are into that kind of thing?"

"Yeah, they're called podiatrists," Ethan replied with a smile. He gestured at the comfortable looking sofa in the middle of the lounge. "Why don't you lie down and let me see if I can help?"

Vereen didn't look convinced. "Are you a medic now or something?"

"Think of me as a concerned citizen trying to help our hard-working Citadel servants back on their feet."

"Oh, and a comedian, too?" she remarked.

"Hey, whatever makes you smile."

Despite her foot cramp, the grin on her face widened. She folded her arms and shrugged. "Alright then, but no funny business."

"I'll give it my best shot," he promised.

Vereen hobbled over to the sofa and lay face up across the cushions. Ethan settled himself by her feet and gently took her left foot in his hands, her skin still wet from the shower. Ethan blinked in surprise. He'd expected her skin to be hard like the shell of a crab, but the paler carapace covering the top of her foot proved to be much more pliable than he imagined and he was slightly taken aback by the softness of her bare pad.

Ethan carefully kneaded his thumb into the flesh between her toes, trying not to look like he was staring at her pointed talons.

"How do you walk on your toes all day?" he asked.

"How do _you_ walk on your ankles?" Vereen countered. "Doesn't it hurt?"

Ethan shook his head. "I guess we adapted to walk that way."

"Well, right back at ya!" Vereen replied.

Ethan stroked his thumbs down the 'arch' of her foot, massaging the skin in small circles. There was a small sigh from Vereen.

"That's… that's actually quite nice."

"You sound surprised," Ethan teased. "It's almost like you doubted me."

Vereen's mandibles clamped against her face in a scornful pout. "Just shut up and rub my foot!"

"Yes, ma'am," Ethan agreed hastily. "Whatever you say, ma'am,"

"And don't call me _ma'am_. It makes me feel old."

"Just as mistress desires," Ethan replied with a wide grin.

Vereen stuck her tongue out defiantly, eliciting a quiet chuckle from Ethan. He returned his attention to her foot. Pinching both toes between his fingers, Ethan gently pulled them up, testing the resistance of each toe to see how far he could pull. Vereen seemed to respond to that. He could hear her breath deepening as she relaxed. He returned his attention to her arch, clenching his fist and kneading her muscles gently with his knuckle.

Vereen let out a shameless moan.

"Ooooh! Right there! That's it!"

Encouraged by her reaction, Ethan pressed his knuckle deeper into the muscle.

"That is _good_. You've obviously done this before…"

"Never with a turian," he admitted, "but it's nice to know some things translate well across species."

"Hmmm, I should say so!" Ethan began sliding his fingers rhythmically between her toes and kneading his thumb into her pad at the same time. Vereen groaned and sunk deeper into the cushion, her left hand draped over the back of the sofa. "That feels wonderful!"

"Good to know. My mother taught me this…"

"Remind me to thank her. All those extra human fingers suddenly make sense."

Ethan couldn't help but chuckle. "The secret is all in the wrist action."

"I'd say it's working! I love what you're doing with your thumb."

Ethan dug slightly harder into Vereen's pad. "Just here?"

"Oh, yeah!" Vereen leaned her head back. "Spirits! I should farm you out to my sister. This would really help her relax!"

Ethan grinned; he opened his mouth to respond when a feminine voice interrupted him, " _Reen_?!"

Vereen and Ethan raised their heads and peered over the back of the sofa. Vereen's sister was standing in the apartment entrance, her face a picture of confusion.

"Val! You're back!" Vereen exclaimed brightly.

Her sister glanced between Ethan and Vereen. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Getting comfy, obviously," Vereen replied. She pulled her foot out of Ethan's grasp and dangled it over the back of the couch. "Ethan offered me a foot rub. I've been on my feet all day."

"My mother was a masseuse," Ethan put in. "It's a great way to unwind, and I was curious to see how the techniques would translate to non-humans."

"Brilliantly as it turns out," Vereen added. "You should try it, Val."

Her sister graciously declined and asked what they were doing in her apartment.

"Well, after those bastards from Internal Affairs trashed your place I thought I'd do some house sitting to keep an eye on it," Vereen said.

"Oh. Thanks for that."

As Vereen and her sister greeted each other, Ethan took that moment to excuse himself, explaining his shift at the docks was about to start.

He bid Vereen goodnight and she bumped her forehead against his in that peculiar turian gesture – a gesture that he was rapidly growing fond of.

Ethan took a skycar to the docking bay and was still smiling when he reached the main hanger, not quite believing his good fortune. If someone had told him four years ago that he would forge an attachment with an alien woman with mandibles and a carapace, Ethan would have laughed in that person's face! The very idea seemed absurd. After all, what could he possibly have in common with a _turian_?

And yet… here he was, grinning like an idiot because he'd succeeded in making a woman he cared about smile and groan in delight. The sound of her voice was still playing in his head.

It was, he decided, a remarkably pleasant sound.

* * *

When Ethan's third shift in two days finally finished it left him physically spent.

He entered the locker room in the docks and slumped down on one of the metal benches that ran the length of the room to the shower stalls, and rubbed his fingers over tired eyes.

 _At least I've got a couple of days off_ , he decided.

He hardly noticed the sound of the shower or the gentle humming of the person washing and stood up, stripping off his jacket and shirt before kicking away his shoes and peeling away his socks. A long, hot shower was just what he needed to revitalise him.

Ethan was unbuckling his trousers when the sound of someone singing a soulful melody full of trills and pleasant warbles drifted from the shower stall.

Ethan instantly recognised the voice.

"Vereen?" he asked. "Is that you?"

" _Ethan_!" Vereen called out cheerfully. " _I'll be out in a second_!"

"You washing your feet again?" Ethan joked.

" _Among other things_ ," Vereen answered.

"Oh…" Ethan hesitated. "Are you naked?"

" _Well how else am I going to shower_? _I don't keep my underwear on, you know_.

"Yeah, I just… I didn't know how turians… bathed," he finished lamely.

" _Pretty much the same as everyone else_."

"Isn't this the _men's_ locker room?"

" _It's unisex. There is no gender assignment_."

"Ah." Ethan stared at the sterile white walls and recessed lockers. "I did not know that," he confessed.

" _How long have you been working on the docks_?"

"I don't use the shower rooms that often."

" _Ewww_!"

"I meant: I shower at home," he clarified hurriedly.

" _That's a relief_."

Ethan bent down and grabbed his shoes. "Should I come back later?"

" _Why_? _Am I making you uncomfortable_?"

He picked up his socks, stuffing them into his shoes. "No, I… It's not… no, not that much."

" _I'm almost done_."

Ethan scooped up his shirt. "I'll come back."

" _No, stay_."

"Yeah, no… you're not dressed. I don't want this to be awkward."

" _Then strip off as well and we'll be on an equal footing_."

There was a long pause.

"Is that…? Are you serious?" Ethan asked carefully.

The sound of the water stopped and Vereen emerged from the shower stall, swathed in a white bathrobe and dabbing her head-horns with a towel.

"Spirits. Your face is a picture. You really don't know when I'm joking, do you?"

"To be fair, I don't know when human women are joking either," Ethan confessed.

Vereen sauntered forwards and stood in front of him. Her gaze lowered to take in the tuft of hair covering his front.

"How about that?" she muttered. "Valni was right,"

"What's that?"

"My sister told me humans are covered in hair. I thought she was pulling my leg."

Before Ethan could reply, Vereen reached out and lightly touched his shoulder, her fingers stroking the wispy hairs. Almost as quickly, she pulled her hand away.

"Sorry. I should have asked."

"It's fine," Ethan assured her, his voice slightly more croaky than usual. He cleared the frog in his throat. "I already gave you a massage. If you want to return the favour, that's fine."

Vereen grinned. Ethan watched her eyes light up and caught his breath.

She reached out again, tentatively stroking a warm hand across his shoulder and then down through his chest hairs.

"Why is it so much thicker here?"

"I'm… not sure. It just is."

"Well, why not show it off like your head hair? Seems like a waste to cover it up."

Ethan laughed. "Some people do show it off."

"But not you?"

"I wouldn't want to distract my co-workers," he joked.

"That's very considerate," Vereen told him.

He grinned. "I'm a people person."

Her attention was drawn back to his chest, her hand straying to his centre, fingers and talons becoming entangled in the thick hairs. Her hand lingered over his heart. She pressed slightly harder, feeling his chest rhythmically rise and fall, sensing the thump of his heartbeat increase in tempo as she caressed his olive skin.

She looked up, meeting his gaze.

She stayed her hand. Ethan held his breath.

His heartbeat grew more rapid.

The moment lingered. Ethan wasn't sure how long they stayed that way.

Reality snapped back into place when two turian dock workers swept into the room.

Vereen pulled her hand away hastily.

The dock workers were chatting happily and didn't seem to notice the other occupants in the locker room.

Vereen broke her gaze, glancing down at her feet.

"Um… I better…" She indicated her locker. "I better get dressed."

Ethan didn't move. "Listen… are you free at all?" he asked. "I mean, later today. If you don't have another shift…"

"Yeah," Vereen said.

"I have a couple of days off. I was going to visit the Presidium. Would you like to join me?"

Vereen smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

The krogan stood fifteen metres tall.

Built to commemorate the krogan's effort in the Council's war against the rachni, the statue stood on a plinth in the middle of the lake, taking pride of place for the Presidium crowds, and a reminder of a time when the krogan were revered as saviours, not as the demilitarized people they were now.

"Strange that it's still here, to be honest," Ethan commented. "Considering the way people treat krogan these days."

"They were once our greatest allies," Vereen replied. "This is how we prefer to remember them. Heroes should be remembered for their great actions." She turned to Ethan. "Though this probably isn't the most romantic area for humans?"

Ethan smiled and cast a quick glance around the Presidium.

The lush parkland, home to the elite and well-to-do of the Citadel, curved upwards in both directions, the horizon disappearing 'upwards' as it stretched along the inner wall os the massive ring.

A turian couple sat on a bench fussing over their young child, who was probably no more than two years old, as he tottered around unsteadily. While over to the right a human and asari stood by the railings, oblivious to the rest of the station as they lost themselves in fervent kisses.

"I don't know, it seems to work for them," Ethan said, nodding at the human and asari.

Vereen glanced over at the couple, watching their passionate exchange. A frown creased her brow.

"Seems like a lot of effort to show affection," she commented.

"In my experience that kind of effort is worth it," Ethan replied.

The turian couple caught sight of the amorous pair and scowled, muttering heatedly between themselves and making their feelings on interspecies pairings quite clear.

"But it's not a hit with everyone, it seems," Ethan observed quietly.

"There are still people who object to public displays of affection," Vereen replied. "Especially between members of different races."

Just then something grabbed Vereen's right leg spur. She looked down to see the turian child clinging onto her for support. The child looked up and grinned happily at Vereen.

Ethan crouched down, squatting close to the child and smiling. "He's cute," he said.

The child stared wide-eyed at Ethan, and edged around Vereen's legs, trying to hide from the scary hairy alien.

"Guess you're not his friend," Vereen said.

The child's mother rushed over and gathered the toddler into her arms. She made a curt apology to Vereen but glared at Ethan, as if blaming him for daring to be human, and then returned to her partner by the bench.

Ethan stood up. "Ah, well. Can't please everyone."

"Obviously not," Vereen said absently. She seemed to be engrossed in the activities of the human and asari further down the terrace.

"I think it's rude to stare," Ethan said.

"Do you do that?" she asked. "Locking lips?"

"On a few occasions," Ethan said with a smile.

"You any good?"

"I've got some game," he replied. "What about you?"

Vereen shrugged. "Never really been with the right species to find out."

"Not even an asari?"

Vereen shot him a look of mild derision. "No."

The turian parents were still bemoaning the lurid display from the amorous couple.

"Think of it like a turian head bump," Ethan explained. "Only with a higher chance of saliva exchange."

Vereen frowned. "You're not exactly selling this to me."

"It can also be used to find out what your partner had for lunch."

Veree screwed her face up. "Oh, it just gets better and better."

Ethan was chuckling now. "Alright, but seriously, there are multiple customs. On Earth kissing can be a greeting or a farewell, it can be formal, it can be symbolic, it can express friendship, or passion, or arousal, but it doesn't have to be…"

Before he knew what was happening, Vereen's lips were firmly planted against his. Ethan blinked rapidly in surprise. The tips of her mandibles were tickling his chin. Her warm carapace, looking so rigid, was surprisingly supple. Her mouth flexed like elastic under the pressure of his lips. He could see the startled expressions of the turian couple with the child out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn't care. Ethan sunk deeper into Vereen's embrace, taking secret delight in the disapproving objections radiating from the couple. He closed his eyes, relishing the delicate feel of her lips and alien perfume of her skin.

When eventually she pulled away, Ethan was breathing heavily, his tan face flushed.

"I seem to recall someone saying they'd never kissed before," he panted.

"Maybe I was joking?" Vereen replied. "Or maybe I wanted to shut you up and see what all the fuss was about."

"And what's the verdict?"

Vereen tilted her head. "I can see the appeal."

"Of kissing or of humans?"

"Both."

Ethan grinned. The turian couple were escorting their child away from the scene of debauchery.

In the comfortable silence that followed, Vereen slowly dragged her fingers up to his shoulder. "Just out of interest, how did I do?" she asked.

"There might be room for improvement," Ethan replied honestly.

Vereen's face fell. "Oh."

"But people usually get better at something through repetition," Ethan said, smiling.

Vereen returned the smile.

Her hand slipped over his soft neck and she ran her fingers through his head hair.

Then she leaned in for another kiss…


End file.
